Please note: This is a repost of a review I posted on my old blog in 2010, since deleted by my ex-webhost. Though, I will say it does give me a chance to add some extra, right here at the top! I have these HD477 headphones on right now, and I'm listening to the test track I used way back then - Brand New heavies, Get Used to It - Still sounds just great! As for build and quality 10/10. Begins...
Sennheiser HD 477 Headphone Review
I've been a fan of the larger Sennheiser headphones for a little while now, using the HD280 Pro as my monitoring cans for both bass and guitar, but I wanted something smaller and lighter for the "sitting at the computer editing" late evenings, not completely closing me off from the outside world - with the 280 Pro headphones, you hear nothing but the music to which you're listening!
I was after something that wasn't super heavy on the head, but with nice mid range and clear highs. I popped into Turnkey in London one lunch time and had a listen to pretty much all they had in store, the Beyer Dynamics were amazing but big, everything else felt quite toy-like. One of the ways I like to choose over ear headphones is to actually listen to them - you can have the best tech spec in the world, if they don't sit on your head and give you a comfortable ride, so to speak, then you're not going to enjoy the experience! Coming to the end of a line of headphones, I happened upon the middle weight Sennheiser HD477, they're an open back headphone with a light construction and a frequency response of around 37 to 21,000Hz... So, they're not *amazing* in the bass arena, and with a less than ideal source are happy to break up and spit at you. I tried the slightly more expensive HD497 at the same time, didn't hear a whole load of benefit.
What they say...
- Open, supra-aural, dynamic hi-fi stereo headphones.
- Ideal at home or on the move.
- Ultra-lightweight and comfortable for extended listening.
- Rugged design.
- Clear, crisp sound with wide dynamics.
- High-quality neodymium magnets and lightweight diaphragms for powerful sound and rich bass.
- Detachable connection cable made from highly conductive OFC copper.
- Long service life due to easily replaceable parts such as ear pads and cables.
- 2-year guarantee.
One of the tracks that I use for my headphone workouts is Brand New Heavies, Get Used to It... Simon's Fender sings and Andrew has a very solid bass line, then in-between you have a crunchy horn section over the top of the keys... It's like an aural workout. The little HD477's walked it in, no noticeable issues, clear, tight enough for a headphone in their range with slight misgivings in the mid-range, but nothing to write home about.
Sennheiser HD 202 II are about all you can buy these days, slightly different but the link I'd placed back in 2010 goes to a 404 these days.
Findings...
- Midrange is about a 7 / 10, not super tonally accurate, but they're cheap.
- Bass tends to break up a tiny bit, but 98% of the time is just fine.
- Build quality, despite being very plastic is quite good*
- Ability to swap out cables / ear cups is great.
I'd give these light weight, supra aural headphones a 8.5 out of 11 over all and would recommend them to a friend, depending on what they were looking for.
Thanks for reading!
Simon